Each regular monthly meeting of Massillon Post 221 has its own special event - September is recognition of our Girls and Boys State delegates, October is a time of Post Everlasting - a time to honor those veterans who have passed from our midst during the last year, and then we hold a Flag Disposal ceremony; November is well known for Veterans' Day

    As I look forward to the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I look back with a warm glow remembering Veterans' Day.  The weather allowed us to hold our ceremony on the front lawn of the Post.  Attendance was good and the Massillon Police Department did their usual fine job of holding back traffic so that our voices could be heard.  The soup and sandwich luncheon was well attended and thanks goes to the cooks and servers for a job well done.

    Our Early Bird dinner (held Tuesday evening 11-11 at 6:30pm) was also well attended and once again the food was good and plentiful - kudos to our caterer.  These post dinners give some of our members a chance to meet and greet each other; sometimes these events are the only time they are able to come to the post for a function.  We're always glad to see them and hope they are able to come to both the Legion Birthday Dinner and the Awards Dinner planned for March and June 2009.  (Watch the Post Parade calendar for these dates.)  Your support is much appreciated and is necessary if we are to continue to help our community.

    On Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday season, we all should give thanks for our many blessings; family, friends, community and country.  And when you sit down to your thanksgiving meal, please remember to say a special prayer for our troops serving in harm's way - troops who will not be with their families on Thanksgiving Day.

    December 13th will be our Legion Children's Christmas Party.  The boys and girls always like to sit on Santa's lap and tell him their wishes - and sometimes a good story as well.  Bring your children and grandchildren (infant to age 12) and join in the fun.  Doors will not open until 1:30, and the stage act begins at 2:00pm.

    I hope your holidays are all you wish them to be.

For God and Country,
-C. Richard Thatcher, Commander

    Veterans Day was certainly a busy day for all veterans of Post 221 and other vet organizations in this county.

    Faircrest School again had another wonderful Veterans Day program and several members from Post 221 were in attendance.  Then, after the Faircrest program, Post 221 had their annual Veterans Day program in front of the Post with a luncheon following.

    The Early Bird dinner was held Nov. 11th at 6:30pm for all members that have their 2009 dues paid early.

    Now that I have mentioned dues you now can purchase a gift certificate from Post 221 that is specifically for 2009 dues.  It will make a great Christmas gift and it is something he or she can enjoy all year long.  Drop into the tavern or call me and get your favorite veteran this special gift for Christmas.

    I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Serving Our Country:

Need addresses for veterans serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

REMEMBER 9-11-2001
-Bill Matthews, 1st Vice Commander

Hello All,

    As with the months before, November has come and gone.  I would like to thank the members who came to the early bird dinner and for paying their dues.  I would hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving and had plenty to eat.  SAL 221 gave 5 families gift cards for Food 4 Less so they could have a better Thanksgiving.

    This year again we will be bell ringing at K-Mart on Saturday the 13th from 10am to 8pm.  There will be a signup sheet on the board in the hallway.  If you have a couple of hours to spare, come out and help us raise some money for the Salvation Army.

    Again, we will be giving gift cards for Christmas to needy families so we need some names.  You can contact me or Bob Emmert (before December 10th) if you know someone.

    As of this writing, we are at 135 of 216 paid up members.  That's 62.5%.  We're doing good, but we need to get to 100%

As Always,
-Bob Lunsford, SAL Commander 221

    Post 221 is starting a 100 club.  This is offered to all members (men & women).  The cost is $50.00 for a one year membership.  It must be paid by Feb. 17, 2009.  Starting Tuesday, March 3rd, we will have our 1st drawing.  If you are present you get $50 and $25 if you're not.  This drawing will be held every Tuesday at 7:30pm for 40 weeks.  On December 8, 2009, we will have our last drawing with a dinner and a reverse raffle draw down.  For more information, we have papers and sign-up sheets in the tavern, or talk to Bob Zorger or Mike Bretz.  Come in and join our new 100 club and have a fun and enjoyable time.

-Bob Zorger, President

    It's hard to believe the Holidays are fast approaching.  It's a busy time of year, so I thought I'd give you a "heads-up" on some upcoming dates & activities.  Also I need your help.  I recently had neck surgery & will be limited in my activities for a little while.  I need volunteers to help out with all our upcoming activities.

    We have a Christmas tree set-up in the tavern.  The "Angel" tree will have the names, ages, & X-Mas wishes of the area's needy children.  The tree was set-up early due to the fact we must have gifts returned by Dec. 8, 2008.  We would prefer to have the presents returned unwrapped & the tag attached.  Thank You!  Also, we will have our "Wall of Warmth" where we collect hats, scarves & mittens for our communities' needy children.

    Our Dec. 2, 08 meeting will begin at 6pm.  We will be wrapping all the gifts for the Children's Christmas Party ~ which will be held Dec. 13, 08.  We are looking for helpers to wrap.  It would be greatly appreciated if you could bring scissors & tape.  Thank You!

    Back by popular demand ~ Santa's Auction will be held Dec. 8, 08 at 7pm.  Shortly a box will be placed; in the blue room, for your auctions' wrapped donations.  Just ask the people who have attended this party in the past ~ this is one party YOU do not want to miss!  Mark your calendar!!

Thanks for your consideration,
-Gail Miller, Unit 221 President

    For many years, no one is quite sure how many, the Post 221 Color Guard has presented the colors at every Massillon High School home football game.  Last year, we offered the same service to Perry High School on a trial basis, and presented at three of their home games.  We received a warm reception, and many of their fans expressed their appreciation that we were willing to do this.

    Based on this reception, the members of the Color Guard have agreed to present the colors at every Perry home game.  Enough members have volunteered that we will be able to cover all the home games of both schools, even on the two nights that both teams have home games.  We felt this was quite appropriate since many of our members are Perry Township residents.  I would like to personally thank the members of the Color Guard for stepping up and making this possible.

    On a sad note, I regret to note the passing of Gerry Stanko on September 10th.  Gerry has been a very active and enthusiastic member of the Color Guard and Honor Guard, and we will miss him greatly.  Our prayers are with his wife Alice and the rest of Gerry's family.

-Mark Weldon

    One of the traditional ways that Post 221 helps the community is by manning the Salvation Army Red Kettle collection point at the Massillon Kmart.  As an organization the Legion brings in more Red Kettle donations than any other group, and we pride ourselves in this long partnership.

    This year the American Legion and the Sons of the American Legion will each be manning the Kettle for an entire Saturday.  The Sons will be at K-mart on December 13th, and the Legion will perform this duty on December 20th.  The hours both days will run from 10:00am to 6:00pm.

    We break the day up into 2 hour shifts, and would like to have at least 2 people, and preferably 3 or 4, for each 2 hour shift.  Having 3 to 4 people available helps to split up the work load and limits exposure to the weather if it's very cold.  A two hour shift actually goes by very quickly.  If you can't commit for 2 hours, even an hour can be very helpful.

    Sign up sheets will be up on the bulletin board at the Post for those who want to volunteer to help out with a shift.  If you can't get down to the Post but want to participate, call the tavern at 833-4545 and they can let you know what spots are available and sign you up.  I would like to see more of our members participate in this very worthwhile program, so please consider joining us in helping those less fortunate this season.

-Mark Weldon

From Donald Baus:  One Korean service medal, one good conduct medal, one corporal insignia, two First Air Force patches, and several other items that I can't identify.

From Mark Eklund:  A beautiful USA Supthai pocket patch from the Vietnam era U.S. Army Support Thailand.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!

    Come into Legion Post 221 and say "Hi" to all of your Comrades and help keep our facility open.  My Elks Lodge 441 in Massillon has closed; lack of money to pay the utilities and everything else.  It could happen to us at Post 221.  Please come in as often as you can to help out.  Many veterans depend on your help.

DID YOU KNOW?

    Veterans and other claimants for VA benefits have the right to appeal decisions made by a VA regional office or medical center.  Typical issues appealed are disability compensation, pensions and education benefits, recovery of overpayment, medication co-payment debts, and reimbursement for medical services that were not authorized.  A claimant has one year from the date of the notification of a VA decision to file and appeal.  The first step in the appeal process is for a claimant to file a written notice of disagreement with a VA regional office or medical center that made the decision.  This is a written statement that a claimant disagrees with the VA's decision.  Following receipt of the written notice, the VA will furnish the claimant a statement of the case describing what facts, laws, and regulations were used in deciding the case and describing appeals.  To complete the request for appeal, the claimant must file a substantive appeal within 60 days of the mailing of the statement of the case or within one year from the date the VA has mailed its decision.

-John Tsocheff

    This is the final chapter covering Buckeye Girls State/Boys State, Class of 2008.  It was a rewarding and gratifying year for Martha Lee and me.

    The girls and boys were a class act; our thanks to the schools, the parents, and the 2008 sponsors.  We also thank Post 221, Unit 221, Bob Emmert and his staff who prepared and served the GS/BS dinner, Danny Webber, and all the Post 221 members who supported us by attending this dinner.

Thank you,
-Martha Lee Thatcher, Unit 221 Chairman - Buckeye Girls State
-Frank Hart, Post 221 Chairman - Buckeye Boys State

ATTENTION MEMBERS!  YOU MUST HAVE YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD WITH YOU TO BE SERVED ALCOHOL.  NO EXCEPTIONS!
NO CARD -- NO SERVICE!
THE LEGION IS A NON-SMOKING FACILITY